Daily Report

Feb. 15, 2011

Maximum Value for Every Dollar

The Air Force is requesting $119 billion in its Fiscal 2012 baseline budget proposal released Monday, plus another $16.4 billion to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That $135.4 billion for Air Force-specific programs grows to a total of...

USAF Eyes 80 to 100 New Bombers

The Air Force is requesting nearly $200 million in Fiscal 2012 to launch a new bomber program and plans to spend $3.7 billion on the aircraft across the new five-year defense plan, according to Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers, USAF’s budget...

DOD Asks for $671 billion in Fiscal 2012

President Obama on Monday asked the Congress to provide $671 billion for the Defense Department in Fiscal 2012. This request includes $553 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund base defense programs and $118 billion to support overseas contingency operations,...

Gates Would Settle for Less in Fiscal 2011

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, acknowledging “it’s unlikely” the Defense Department will receive the $553 billion that it requested in Fiscal 2011, said Monday he’d settle for $540 billion. He said this while briefing reporters in the Pentagon on DOD’s Fiscal...

Gates Will Exercise All Options on F136

In his remarks introducing President Obama’s $671 billion defense budget request for Fiscal 2012, Defense Secretary Robert Gates once again came out swinging against the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 engine for the F-35 strike fighter. Calling the effort an “unnecessary...

Global Hawk Block 40 Buy Truncated

The Air Force is reducing its buy of Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40 remotely piloted aircraft, opting to procure only 11 of them, Air Force budget director Maj. Gen. Alfred Flowers said Monday when discussing the service’s Fiscal...

Perchance to SLEP

The Air Force’s Fiscal 2012 spending plan doesn’t have any money in it for buying kits to perform a service life-extension program on some of the service’s F-16 fighters, but does provide $25 million for studies of a “potential SLEP,”...

No New Fighter

A year after Russia unveiled its T-50 stealth fighter—and less than a month after China flew its own J-20 stealthy prototype—the Air Force Fiscal 2012 budget plan contains no new program to pursue a sixth generation fighter. Air Combat Command...

A Conveniently Warm Winter Deployment

F-16s of the Iowa Air National Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing and a KC-135 from the state’s 185th Air Refueling Wing flew to Australia, joining Royal Australian Air Force airmen for exercise Sentry Down Under. Operating from RAAF Base Williamstown in...

From Touchdown to Healing Touch

In a two-day trial held at Travis AFB, Calif., members of the 615th Contingency Response Wing and 60th Medical Group demonstrated the value of the Air Force’s Expeditionary Medical Support Health Response Team concept currently under development. Within three hours...

Mishap at Cobra Gold

Two Royal Thai Air Force F-16s crashed during the US-Thai Cobra Gold military exercise currently underway in Thailand. Both pilots, assigned to the RTAF’s Wing One, ejected safely, reported the Bangkok Post. The F-16s were part of a four-ship sortie...